The Wicc: Wolf – Conspicuously individual work by an important Irish artist

Irish singer, songwriter and cultural activist Carol Keogh has been at the forefront of some of the best alternative music of the past 25 years. Formerly of Plague Monkeys, Tycho Brahe, and Autamata, as well as a collaborator with other, lesser-known music units (with Natural History Museum and City Fathers), Keogh has survived the myriad hazards that come with being a member of non-commercial music-makers by simply getting on with it and forging her own path.

In the creative persona of The Wicc, she continues with a themed work that, she says, was more automatic than premeditated, or which required an arbitrator. From the beginning of the song- and score-writing for Wolf, Keogh realised the work lent itself to elements of multimedia/multidisciplinary collaborative theatre, and so what’s here isn’t what you might ordinarily expect from her.

Reference points (undesirable though they might be) could include Kate Bush’s more conceptual works, but the layered output here is conspicuously individual. Some tracks align perfectly (Big Bad, which is as beautiful an alternative pop song as you’ll hear this year), while others reside firmly in more rarefied realms (Sheep’s Clothing, The Wind).

Tethered to string instruments (violin, viola, cello) with the occasional bassoon making its presence felt, Keogh's glorious voice sits atop everything, and seems tenderly reigned in throughout. The result is exploratory but often quite exceptional. https://carolkeogh.bandcamp.com